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REFERENCE. 

A Point Tunnel ....216' lon^.... 

B Jarre tts.. . . .do^ 12.5. . .da.. , * . 

C Lick Log......^. ....562'..... 

D lYl? Elroy.,...„ 89,'......... 

E. Hfg-h Ridff©.. ,451' „.... 

F. Burgin...... . ....... .»2i5&,...,^..... 

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Western N. C^ ailroad —Mountain DiTision. 



\_ 



WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA 

Nature's Trundle-Bed of Recuperation 



FOE 



TOURIST AND HEALTH-SEEKER. 



BY HINTON A. HELPER. 

"GUY CYRIL." 



ILLUSTRATED AND PRINTED BY 
THE S-OUXH PUBLISHINQ COMPANY, 

85 Warren Street, New York. 



' 0%, 




INTRODUCTORY. 



The purpose of this little pamphlet is to present 
to the reader the advantages, resources and possibili- 
ties, together with the attractions the mountainous 
section of North Carolina, along the line of the West- 
em North Carolina Railroad, offers to immigrants, capi- 
talists, manufacturers, invalids, tourists and others. 



H. A. H. 



ASHEVILLE, N. C, 

JUNE 1, 1886. 



CONTENTS. 

Introductory, 3 

Historical Notes, 5 

Some of the Early Settlers, ....... 6 

Itinerary of the Western North Carolina Eailroad, . 9 

Scenery of Western North Carolina, 32 

Height of some of the Mountains 35 

Elevation of Prominent Places, etc., » 35 

North Carolina Mountains Highest of any in the United 36 

States, East of the Mississippi, 

Metropolis of the Land of the Sky, 37 

How to Get to Asheville — the Radiating Center of Western 

North Carolina, 42 

Tahle of Estimated Rates, etc., 44 

Climatology, 45 

Average Temperature, 49 

The Climate Compared to Famous European Resorts, 49 

Popularity as a Health Resort, 51 

Places of Interest, 54 

Mountain Excursions, 59 

Pleasant Places of Sojourn in Western North Carolina, 63 

Asheville's Steady and Uniform Growth, ... 66 

Commercial Advantages, 67 

Resources, 69 

Railroad Facilities, ........ 70 

The People, ' . . . . 73 

Indian Names, 74 

Mountain Breezes, . 74 

"Swannanoa," 78 

"Racing Water." ..... . SO 

4 



ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA. 




HISTORICAIj 

^^r-'^^-^m- jae^^^=^^^pmi\ NOTES. 

F THE earli- 
I est traditional 
knowledge of 
the mountain- 
ous section, or 
the Southern 
Highlands of 
North Carolina, 
it may be said 
that it has been 
handed down by 
the Cher o k e e 
Indians, as stat- 
ed by Col. Thomas several years ago in an interview while 
acting as Chief of the Cherokee tribe. Long before the 
Cherokees came to the Southern Highlands the country 
was inhabited by a people known as the moon-eyed race, 
who were unable to see during certain phases of the moon. 



The Creek Indians inhabited this section before the 
Cherokees, took advantage of these moon-eyed people, 
and during their period of blindness killed them out- 
right. The Cherokees afterward conquered the Creeks, 
nearly annihilating the whole tribe. 

In 1729 the Lords Proprietors sold to the king for 
$45,000 their whole right and title in North Carolina, 
which then lay between the parallels of 31 and 36 degrees 
north latitude, and extended from the Atlantic ocean 
westward to the South sea. In 1749, twenty years there- 
after, emigrants from the west of Scotland flocked to 
the Cape Fear region, and one year later the first settle- 
ment of the Upper Yadkin was begun by the Scotch- 
Irish. One among the early settlers on this water-course 
was Daniel Boone, who in 1754 chased the bear on Bear 
creek, a small tributary of the South Yadkin, near 
Mocksville, N. C. Several years later there came an- 
other class of immigrants to the State, known as the 
Pennsylvania Dutch, who also largely settled along the 
banks of the Yadkin, and gradually dilTused themselves 
among the valleys of the Catawba and Yadkin. 

After the Kevolution immigration to the mountains 
became very large. In the year 1795, says Wheeler the 
historian, the first wagon passed from North Carolina to 
Tennessee by the way of Warm Springs, and from this 
time forward this beautiful, wild and picturesque sec- 
tion began to fill up. On the French Broad at the mouth 
of the Swannanoa the first white child was born, on the 
inter-montane plateau, and the name of the child was 
James M. Smith. 

SOME OF THE EAELY SETTLEES. 
" O happy days of innocence and ease, 
Blest with each charm, where every charm could please." 

Daniel Smith, who settled at the mouth of the Swan- 
nanoa in 1785, was one of the first white men to press 
the soil of the present limits of Buncombe county. He 
maintained a warfare, generally single-handed, against 

6 



the Cherokee Indians for many years, and it is said that 
over one hundred bit the dust from his old flint rifle. 

John Patton, the father of Montravelle Patton, set- 
tled here in 1790, and made his first clearing on the 
Swannanoa, near "Patton's Mills." He was the first 
county surveyor of Buncombe, and held the position for 
many years with great fidelity and trust. 

Samuel W. Davidson, a man of most noble parts, re- 
moved from Morganton to the Swannanoa in 1786. He 
was a man noted for his great liberality and broad 
views. His descendants are men of note in the State. 

James Patton came from Ireland to this country in 
1783, first settling in Virginia. He came to Buncombe 
county in 1792. He purchased from James M. Smith for 
a small sum the present site of Asheville. 
. Zebulon Baird, the maternal grandfather of Gen. E. 
B. and Senator Z. B. Vance, came to this county in 1795 
from Georgia in a four-wheeled wagon across the moun- 
tains. Mr. Baird built the first storehouse and court- 
house as well as jail on the present site of Asheville. 
He was an industrious and progressive man in those 
days, and represented this county in both branches of 
the State Legislature. 

CoL David Vance, grandfather of Gen. E. B. and Sena- 
tor Vance, came to this county from Virginia, settling 
on Keen's creels. He was a brave soldier and a man of 
dauntless courage. He took an active part in the battle 
of King's Mountain, October 7, 1780. 

David L. Swain was born in Buncombe county in 1801. 
By the exercise of native talent he afterward became 
Governor of the State, closing his remarkable career as 
President of the University of North Carolina. 

There are the Alexanders, Weavers, Whitsons, Chums, 
Brevards and others, whose illustrious deeds and courage 
have made this county rich in personal narrative, but 
space forbids the further mention of their names or 
doings. 

7 




SUGAB FORK FALLS, NOETH CAfiOLTNA, 



ITINERARY OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINIl R. R. 

A KAEE EAILWAY HIDE, OVEB AND THKOUGH MOUN- 
TAINS 6,000 FEET HIGH. — PLEASANT GLIMPSE 
OF FERTILE VALLEYS, BABBLING BEOOKS 
AND MOUNTAIN PEAKS. 

The tourist to the mountains of North Carolina be- 
gins his journey on the Western North Carolina Divi- 
sion of the Eichmond and Danville Eailroad system at 
Salisbury, and gradually passes through the heart of 
the State, in a direction almost due west, traversing 
the counties of Eowan, Iredell, Catawba, Burke and 
McDowell, to the top of Swannanoa Pass, of the Blue 
Eidge, a distance o£ more than 150 miles. 

Probably no railroad in the country holds out to the 
tourist and pleasure seeker, as well as the invalid, as 
many delightful and surprisingly fine views of mountain 
scenery as this road. In fact, at almost every revo- 
lution of the car wheel. Nature presents pictures so in- 
effably charming that the mind at once begins afresh 
its work in calling up pleasant and gentle reminders of 
" days which have as happy been." 

SALISBUEY is the starting point to the mountains 

and the county-seat of Eowan, 
760 feet above sea-level. 
which was formed in 1753. This 

place derives its name from a city in England. It is a 
word of Saxon origin, meaning a dry town, and is situ- 
ated on the Piedmont Air Line and Western North Car- 
olina Eailroad, 118 miles from Ealeigh. Population, 
3,800. Here the old Confederate prison pen stood during 
the war between the States, which at one time held over 
20,000 Federal prisoners. Surface moderately uneven, 

9 




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water power plenty and soil very fine. Near the rail- 
road depot is the Mt. Vernon Hotel, one of the most 
pleasant hostelries in the State to stop over on your way 
to the mountains of North Carolina. Mr. Peter Frecks, 
the proprietor of the Mt. Vernon, ably assisted by 
Messrs. Vernon & CJobb, with Mr. Scott Brown as ad- 
jutant, has given the Mt. Vernon a distinctive name and 
reputation as a first-class hotel. 

Leaving Salisbury, our first point of note reached is 
Statesville. We have passed through a fine rolling 
country to this point, fertile and well cultivated. States- 
ville, the capital of Iredell county, is a town of some 
3,000 souls. The station is some distance from the 
town. This district abounds in fine fruit. The Atlanta, 
Tennessee and Ohio Division of the Charlotte, Colum- 
bia and Augusta Kailroad connects the town with 
Charlotte. 

STATESVILLE is the county-seat of Iredell, which 
was formed from Eowan in 

25 miles from Salisbury, -.rrorv j • -, ^r- •-, j_ /. 

940 feet above sea-level. ^^^^ ^°^ '^ ^^^ "^'^^^ ^^^^ «^ 

■ Kaleigh, and immediately on 

the Western North Carolina Kailroad at the junction of 

the Atlantic, Tennessee and Ohio Eailroad. It is a 

growing mountain town, in the center of a fine farming 

section. 

Leaving Statesville, we soon pass the divide between 
the Yadliin and Catawba rivers, and on the line between 
the counties of Iredell and Catawba cross the Catawba 
river when we come to 

CATAWBA, a small station on the line of this road and 

a place destined to grow as a 

38 miles from Salisbury, ..... -r. 

„„^ ^ ^ , , manufacturing town. Its pop- 

62 feet above sea-level. ° -"^ ^ 

._ ulation is notably thrifty. 

For some distance before we reach the next station 
we begin to be aware of the mountains, sighting Brushy 
Bidge on the north and the South Mountain on the 
south of the line. The South Mountain is quite impos- 

11 




J. G. HALL'S RESIDENCE, HICKORY, N. C. 



ing, and to the northwest we catch a glimpse of the 

Linnville Mountains, a high range running parallel with 

the Blue Kidge. 

NEWTON is the county-seat of Catawba and was cut 

off from Lincoln county,in 1842, 
51 miles from Salisbury, j - i -i. j. 1.1. 

, „^, ^ , ^ , , and takes its name from the 

1,021 feet above sea-level. 

beautiful river which forms its 

northern boundary. It is a thriving and progressive 

town and very prosperous in manufactures of several 

kinds. 

HICKOEY, a beautiful and picturesque mountain 

town,with a population of 2,500, 
61 miles from Salisbury, . „ , , . 

^„,„„ , , , 1 IS one of the most prosper- 

1,010 feet above sea-level. ^ ^ 

ous manufacturing towns in 

the State. There are two good hotels at Hickory — the 
Central and the Western. Here is manufactured the 
celebrated " Piedmont wagon," so popular in the South- 
em and Western States. The land is moderately un- 
even, and most of it quite productive ; it is well watered 
and has plenty of water-power for immense machinery. 
Catawba is a prosperous county, out of debt, taxes low, 
and money in the treasury — a desirable place to settle. 
The celebrated Sparkling Catawba Springs are in this 
county, 

Froni this place we catch a fine glimpse, on the right 
hand side, of High Brighton Mountain, formerly known 
as "Turkey Cock" — once the home of Daniel Boone 
while a hunter in the wilds of Western North Carolina. 

ICAKD is a flourishing little place and probably one 

of the healthiest we have yet 
71 miles from Salisbury, , , -n, .^ « j /-. n 

.„.„„,, , , reached. Eutherford College 

1,240 feet above sea-level. '^ 

is situated here ; also the new 

hotel Happy Eetreat, just built by the Messrs. Meroney 
Bros., of Salisbury, which will be open for the recep- 
tion of guests by the middle of June. The mineral 
springs near by are highly endorsed by the medical pro- 
fession for their wonderful curative powers. 

13 



Leaving Icard, the route runs through a region whose 
features are increasing in boldness of outline at every 
mile — mountains on either hand, increasing in grandeur 
and interest. At Morganton, the next station, we are 
already in the midst of them. 

MOEGANTON, the county-seat of Burke, was laid 
off from Eowan county in 1777, 

81 miles from Salisbury, , , . , » ,, i 

l.UO feet above sea-level. ^^^ ^^°^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^ *he Cel- 
. ebrated English statesman and 

orator, Edmund Burke. Morgantown is called in com- 
pliment of General Daniel Morgan. The Western In- 
sane Asylum is situated here. Population 1,500. At 
this place the mountain scenery begins to show itself in 
gorgeous colors, while the valleys beyond give new 
zest and pleasure to the trip. The soil is rich, with 
clay subsoil, water excellent, and the scenery unsur- 
passed for beauty and sublimity in this or any other 
State. Table Kock, off in the distance, a bold promi- 
nence of the Linnville range looms up in sight, while 
the "Grandfather," a celebrated peak of the Blue Kidge, 
the oldest out-cropping of the globe and belonging in re- 
ality to the Archeean age, comes prominently into view. 
BRIDGEWATEK affords a view, far away through the 

mellow foreground of green, of 
91 miles from Salisbury ^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^_ 

1,104 feet above sea-level. ^ 

, tain, looming dimly purple 



against the evening sky. Then, nearer, the lesser heights 
of the Blue Ridge, and nearer still, the dreamy, fertile 
valley of the Catawba; the whole forming a picture 
of delightful contrasts — a landscape of unexcelled 
beauty at once grand and imposing, calm and peaceful. 
To the right of this station one can obtain a magnifi- 
cent view of the Linnville range of mountains, which 
for rugged beauty cannot be excelled. 

Marion, in McDowell county, is the next station. The 
road to this point abounds with views of the mountains, 
which seem to press nearer and nearer to the line of 

14 



!i|j|.!:j'||i!i|;;;ii;|iii!!||i:.j 




travel. . The village presents the usual appearance ot 
mountain villages, pretty green hills, and fine trees and 
grass, with no great attention paid to elegance in the 
houses. From this point, also, if the tourist prefers, 
he can reach Linnville valley and mountains. 
MARION is the county-seat of McDowell, and was 

formed from portions of Ruth- 
102 miles from Salisbury, n j j -r. , 

1,425 feet above sea-level. ^^*°^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ Counties in 

1842 ; it was named in honor 

of Col. Joseph McDowell, a distinguished officer of the 
Revolution. At this point we have reached the base of 
the mountains, and from this Juncture grand sights of 
mountains in the distance and sparkling cascades below 
greet the eye. Leaving Marion, we still pursue the 
course of the Catawba, crossing it again just before 
reaching Old Fort, the next station. 
OLD FORT. This is a small mountain village. It 
takes its name from an old fort 

114 miles from Salisbury, , . , i .-li^ , 

1,450 feet above sea-level. ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^® '^ ^^t®" 

revolutionary times, for the 

protection of the early back-woods settlers in this part 
of the State. Fair accommodations may be had here, 
and from this point those who desire to visit the Falls 
of Catawba river and Bald Mountain, the Restless, can 
best start. The Falls of Catawba, while not grand, are 
very beautiful, and are in a picturesque region. 

At this point it will be well to refer to the mountain 
map in the front page of the guide book, as we begin at 
this point to penetrate the stern and silent sentinels of 
God's great handiwork. 

The next place we reach is Round Knob, one of the 
prettiest and most picturesque stations on the line of 
road. The distance from Round Knob to the summit is 
eight miles, and presents one of the most splendid 
achievements of civil engineering in the world. Says a 
recent writer : " The line twists and turns and doubles 
itself on its own track in so many crooked trails that it 

16 



often puts the passenger in doubt whether he is going up 
or coming back, and while he gazes, out of one window 
to discover the route above, his eyes penetrate into 
some deep gorge where he sees the thread-like track 
over which he has already come, and before he can sat- 
isfy his astonished senses that he actually did come 
from that depth, he goes around some Jutting promon- 
tory of rock and the scenes at which he had Just been 
gazing are shut from his view. The train rolls easily 
along from ridge to ridge, Circling the knobs and dodg- 
ing the coves like a thing of life, but ever ascending 
higher and higher, until with a bound it plunges into 
the tunnel through which it burrows under the gap, and 
after a moment's suspense, emerges into the light of 
day on the western slope of the Blue Kidge." 

EOUNU KNOB may well be called an Arcadian nook 

of repose. It is a point of 
119 miles from Salisbury, . i .. .. . .1 

1,836 feet above sea-leyel. special attraction to the tour- 

ist. The fountain to the right 

as will be seen from the picture, throwing up a perpen- 
dicular Jet of pure mountain water to the height of 268 
feet, is probably the highest if not the most attractive 
fountain in the world. 

The Bound Knob Hotel is quite a charming little 
mountain inn, with ample accommodations for 75 to 100 
people. Many pleasant excursions are made to this 
point from places near by on account of its weird ap- 
pearance and the desirability of the place as a resting 
nook from toil, heat and worldly strife. 

The distance from Bound Knob to Swannanoa Gap is 
about seven miles. The elevation to be overcome is so 
great that in order to maintain a uniform gradient of say 
120 feet to the mile, the line of the railroad makes a de- 
tour into the mountains, up a branch of Mill'Creek, and 
performs some most astounding gymnastics in the way of 
curves and cuttings in order to reach the summit and 
keep a uniform grade. It winds around the spurs and 

18 



up the steep slopes, now and then crossing the little 
stream over a high bridge or trestle in such a way as to 
gain the desired end, and in doing so presents many 
charming views of valley and mountain. The Pinnacle 
of Blue Eidge, the highest point of that ridge, is in full 
view — a noble, symmetrical peak, over 5,000 feet high, 
beautifully wooded. At one point the road winds around 
an isolated spur and crosses again the same culvert 120 
feet above the first crossing ; at another point, by a 
similar loop, it runs fifty or sixty feet above the curve 
immediately below, into which a pebble may be thrown 
from the car window. The work here has been immense 
and very expensive. Not to speak of the deep cuttings 
and heavy embankments, there are six tunnels from 400 
to 1,800 feet in length. The last one, at the summit, 
immediately under the stage road, is about 1,800 feet, 
through loose rock and earth, principally, but the other 
three tunnels are through solid rook of the sternest and 
most unyielding character. Great and laborious as 
have been the efforts of man to overcome nature at this 
point, it is interesting to stand upon some coigne of 
vantage and to see how puny are his greatest efforts in 
comparison with the everlasting grandeur of nature. 
The great road is at best a mere gash in the face of the 
everlasting hills, "and man's most ambitious embank- 
ments but puny ant-hills in comparison with the majes- 
tic heights which look down in silence upon these Lili- 
putian labors. 
SWANNANOA TUNNEL, or Swannanoa Gap, is the 

longest tunnel in the mountains, 
126 miles from Salisbury, ^ „__ » , , .n , 

2,658 feet above sea-level. ^'^OO ^^et long, aS Will be seen 

by reference to the guide book. 

After emerging from total darkness into the bright 
and clear light and mountain air, we see from a point 
above the tunnel the dividing water shed of this section 
from an old house, the one side of which lets its water 
fall safely and gently into the water courses moving 

20 




A GLIMPSE OF THE FEENCH BROAD. 



slowly away to the great Gulf of Mexico, while the 
other side of the house sends its current rapidly and 
furiously away into the blue and majestic waters of the 
Atlantic. 

Soon Black Mountain station is reached, where many 
tourists get off to visit the renowned Mt. Mitchell, 6,711 
feet high. 

BLACK MOUNTAIN. This station derives its name 

from the Black Mountains, in 

129 miles from Salisbury, ^^ , , , , ~ 

2,312 feet above sea-level. ^^^^^^^ ^O^^^^' «« called from 

the dark color of the balsam 

fir that covers most of the higher peaks, giving the pecul- 
iar dark tint of its foliage to the mountains, which are 
the highest land east of the Kocky Mountains. The Blue 
Eidge at this point also rises to its highest elevation in 
the Pinnacle, and eastward sti"!! and parallel are the 
Linnville Mountains, also among the loftiest of the out- 
lying ridges of the Blue Ridge. So that the region, 
whether we look at it in detail or as a whole, constitutes 
the most remarkably elevated spot of the mountain 
system of the Atlantic slope. The general direction of 
the Black range is north and south, but its higher peaks 
lie in a kind of loop, in shape somewhat like a horse- 
shoe. In the accent the path so often shifts its direc- 
tion, and the mountains present appearances so differ- 
ent from the various points of view, that the traveler is 
bewildered and loses all idea of direction. It is only 
since 1845 that the true height of these mountains has 
been ascertained and the fact brought to light that 
Mt. Mitchell is a little higher than Mt. Washington, in 
New Hampshire. The discovery was due to Dr. Mitch- 
ell, professor at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who meas- 
ured the height accurately and published the fact. 

At this station is a fine hotel, the Mountain House, in 
charge of J. C. S. Timberlake, an experienced hotel 
man, having gained an enviable reputation in Florida 
during the past few years. 

22 





^ 



Prom the Mountain House to Mt. Mitchell is reckoned 
five miles. The route is pleasant — up and down, up and 
down — for it is necessary to keep along the backbone of 
the mountains, as the sides are too steep and rugged to 
be passed. And so it is that at the distance of two and 
a half miles we pass Clingman's Peak, 5,870 feet high, 
then down an inclination, then up past Holback's Peak, 
then down again, and up again, past Gibbs's Peak, 
then down again, and last up to the summit of Mt. 
Mitchell. The road is a mere trail from the Mountain 
House, narrow and deep, worn by cattle and by the 
rains, filled with stones, and here and there only a suc- 
cession of ledges. 

Leaving Black Mountain station, the pastoral loveli- 
ness and beauty of Western North Carolina comes prom- 
inently to view. Traveling along at a good rate of speed 
with the bold Craggies on the right, which intercept the 
view of the Black Mountains towering above to the 
northeast, as you reach the vicinity of the rippling 
Swannanoa, to the left, looming up and presenting a 
fine view are to be seen several conspicuous spires of the 
Blue Eidge. In this peaceful vale the beauty of scenery 
beggars all description ; the poet and the artist will 
find here material for pen and brush which cannot be 
equaled on the habitable globe. 

SPARTANBURG JUNCTION is the juncture of 
the Western North Carolina 

140 miles from Salisbury, -r. ., , , ,, r^ . , 
2,000 feet above sea-level. Railroad and the Spartanburg 
and Asheville Railroad, con- 
necting Western North Carolina with the large cities 
south, by diverging railroad lines in all directions. 
The opening of this railway link, which will transpire 
within a few weeks will be a great advantage to the 
people living in Charleston, Savannah, Augusta and At- 
lanta. It furnishes a considerably shorter line from 
the three first-named cities to the great trade cen- 
ters of Savannah, Louisville and Chicago, than the 

24 



' ft 
It) 




toutes heretofore in operation and presents Vastly supe- 
rior advantages, especially , for summer travel. 
ASHEVILLE is one of the great summer resorts of 
"Western North Carolina, a full 
and minute description of 
which will be found in the main 



145 miles from Salisbury, 
2,250 feet above sea-level. 



body of the guide book. 

Rowling along where the French Broad and the Swan- 
nanoa meet in laughing melody of splashing sounds — 




MOUNTAIN PARK HOTEL, AT HOT SPRINGS, (FORMERLY WARM j 
SPRINGS) N. C. 

around towering curves of mountain peaks, with Mt. 
Pisgah and the Eat in the distance, we arrive at 

MARSHALL, which is the county-seat of Madison, 

formed in 1850 from Buncombe 

165 miles from Salisbury, 



1,684 feet above sea-level. 



and Yancey counties, and was 
_ named in honor of James Mad- 

ison, the fourth president of the United States. This 
town is situated on the beautiful French Broad, the sur- 
face mountainous with rich valleys interspersed, scenery 

26 



tinstirpaSsed for beauty and grandeur. After a short 
run of seventeen miles, the famous Warm Springs is 
reached. 







N] tOTEL AT HAYWOOD WHITE SULPHUR SPKINGS, NEAE 

A\ ATNESVILLE, N. C. 

WABM SPKINGS is in Madison county, near the 

Tennessee line, and is a place 
of great resort. The Mountain 
Park Hotel, just erected and 



182 miles from Salisbury, 
1,325 feet above sea-level. 



under the management of Mr. B. P. Chatfield, at this place, 
surpasses anything of its kind and character in the State, 
for beauty, convenience and comfort. The bathing 
houses have just been finished at a very heavy cost and 
fitted up in the most luxurious manner, resembling those 

27 



at Baden Baden. The grounds have been laid out in 
the most artistic manner. The Warm Springs are liter- 
ally warm pools rising to the surface near the river — 
the scale of heat from 102 degrees to 104 degrees 
Fahrenheit. Four miles from the Springs, near the Great 
Smoky Mountains, overlooking the French Broad, is 
PATNT EOCK, one hundred and fifty feet high, with 
" reddish hues ascribed to the 

189 miles from Salisbury, , . , i- j_t- x j- 

1.264 feet above sea-level. ^^^^ Pigments of the Indians. 

Near by is the famous Lover's 

Leap ; from its eminence can be seen a country unsur- 
passed for beauty, wild scenery and pastoral loveliness. 
At this point the "Western North Carolina Eailroad con- 
nects with the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia 
Kailroad and all points West. 

The railroad passes westward from Asheville through 
the opening caused by the recession of the Pisgah and 
the Newfound ranges, traversing what, from a distance, 
appears to be a valley, but which, in reality, is an undu- 
lating country marked by ranges of low hills transverse 
to the road, and crossed by beautiful streams. On the 
left is the tall and graceful pinnacle of the Great Pisgah, 
its summit 5,700 feet high, always in sight ; on the right 
the graceful outlines of the Newfound Mountains stretch 
toward the north, showing many beautiful peaks ; while 
in front, closing up the vista, are the grand and beauti- 
ful Balsam Mountains, capped by the symmetrical cone 
of Cold Mountain, 6,200 feet high. The next place of 
note reached, is 

WAYNESVILLE, the county-seat of Haywood, which 
175 miles from Salisbury, as formed in 1808 from Bun- 

30 " " Asheville, combe. The town is situated 
2,766 feet above sea-level. q^ Eichland Creek, which flows 
through gently undulating grounds, shaded by maples 
and other trees of great beauty. One of the finest and 
most imposing Court Houses in the State adorns the 
town from a commanding position. Here are the celebra- 

28 



ted Haywood White Sulphur Springs, 2,716 feet above 
sea-level, and the great Balsam Mountains, ranging from 
5.000 to 6,425 feet in height, two to ten miles distant, 
are eaay of access. 

The place is as free from malaria as are the peaks of 
the Kocky Mountains, with shady walks and pleasant 
drives for many miles, which offer rare inducements to 
those in search of either health or pleasure. 

The medicinal properties of the waters are of remark- 
able value in chronic diarrhoea, dyspepsia and diseases 
of the liver and kidneys. 

A magnificent new brick hotel has just been completed 
at this place at a cost of $45,000, which will be managed 
by Mr. J. C. S. Timberlake, in connection with the Black 
Mountain House. The grounds in the front and rear of 
this hotel at Waynesville cannot be equaled in "Western 
North Carolina. Leaving this mountain paradise, in a 
few minutes we arrive at 

BALSAM STATION, and here begins the descent into 
183 miles from Salisbury, the far-famed valley of the 
38 " " Asheviiie, Nantahala, from Balsam 
3,411 feet above sea-level, mountains, over 6,000 feet high, 
which for scenery cannot be surpassed on this continent. 
In a compass of fourteen miles we soon come to 

WEBSTER STATION, the county seat of Jackson, 
197 miles from Salisbury, formed in 1850 and named in- 
52 " " Asiieviiie, honor of General Andrew Jack- 
1,972 feet above sea-level. gon. The tourist will find here 
a rich mountainous country, watered by the Tuckaseege 
and Oconeeluftee rivers which run through the central 
part of the county, forming one of the finest valleys of 
the west. The next station is 

CHARLESTON, the county seat of Swain, romantic- 
215 miles from Salisbury, ally situated on the Tuckaseege 
70 " " Asheviiie, river. The surface is moun- 
1,750 feet above sea-level, tainous ; watered by the Big 
Pigeon river and tributaries. Water-power is abundant, 

30 



and scenery fine. This county has some 250,000 acres 
of the finest grazing land in the world. In this county 
are the Cherokee Indians, numbering 2,000, their pres- 
ent settlement being known as Qualla Town. 

NAN T AH ALA is one stretch of magnificent valleys, 
235 miles from Salisbury, where the SOul of man is made 
90 " " Asheviiie, glad by the rich alluvial soil 
1,695 feet above sea-level. deposits which produce abun- 
dantly all of the cereals known to man. 

J AEEE ITS is now the present terminus of this road, 
245 miles from Salisbury, which will within a few years 
100 " " Asbeviiie, be Completed to the Georgia 
2,686 feet above sea-level. ijne, where railroad connec- 
tions will be made with the Georgia lines, and with other 
lines running to the far distant West. 

SCENERY. 

" Those beautiful States of the South— those regions than which 
the whole earth offers nothing more fertile or more lovely. — John 
Bright. 

Who would not take a trip through the mountains of 
North Carolina, provided the chance was offered ? 
Everybody would, I dare say. A country dame, on her 
first visit to the sea, looking over its vastness and men- 
tally contrasting it with the pent-up Utica that hitherto 
had contracted her powers, exclaimed: "I'm glad to 
see something that there is enough of." No doubt one 
passing along the Western North Carolina Railroad 
might make a similar exclamation on beholding Na- 
ture's grand and impressive scenery which lies every- 
where around, and say with equal delight, 

" Is not the scene magnificent ? 
Beauty nowhere owes to mountains » 

Lovelier haiints than these." 

The romancer's pen and the artist's pencil have al- 
ready portrayed with equal beauty the scenery of West- 
ern North Carolina. This lovely "land of the sky " has 
been a theme for many years past, and SQ it will bQ for 

32 




GUY CYRIL TKAMPING IN THE MOUNTAINS OF NOETH CAEOLINA. 



many years to come. Beautiful in picturesque loveli- 
ness, grand and imposing in majesty, awe-inspiring in 
natural, rugged beauty, and simply wonderful in all its 
character, the western section of this State can never be 
fully appreciated until it is seen and traveled over. 
Here upon every height lies repose, and every land- 
scape extends a silent invitation to the sojourner to 
stay and enjoy its rest. Here the majestic forests seem 
to have 

" A harp for every wind, 
A voice for every sky." 

Here in the hot and sultry days of midsummer, among 
Nature's grand old peaks and sentinels, with their 6,000 
feet of altitude, you are refreshed by 

" The winds stealing gently through the forests. 
Among the leaves that palpitate forever." 

Here you see fertile valleys, where cereals and fruits 
cheer the heart of man, while the circling mountains 
shut out the rest of the world from your vision. This is 
a country on which the red man of the forest has lavished 
a wealth of affection, breathed forth in the poetic names 
he has bestowed upon its hills and streams — names 
that in many cases have perished or lost their import to 
the white man. Here your eyes may dwell upon beds 
of mountain flowers and ferns of endless hue and variety, 
while wild roses and tendrils from hanging vines greet 
the vision in endless profusion, reminding you of a ver- 
itable Arcadia, Here are hills of majestic beauty, 
streams of sparkling water, gorges echoing with the 
roar of ti^ie torrent, cascades of tremendous force, 
chasms of wild, dreary fascination ; in fact, this is a 
region of mountain grandeur that will ever and anon 
tempt the prophetic soul and yearning heart of man to 
meditate over life's fitful change, and say, in the lan- 
guage of the poet, 

" But let me often to these solitudes 
Retire, and in Thy presence reassure 
My feeble virtue.'' 
34 



HEIGHT OF MOUNTAINS IN NOETH CAKOIilNA, ABOVE 
SEA LEVEL, NEAK THE WESTEKN NOETH 

CAEOIilNA EAILEOAD. 

Feet. 

Mitchell's Peak 6,711 

Balsam Cone 6,671 

Hairy Bear 6,610 

Cat-tail Peak 6 611 

These are the highest ou the Black'mountain (main chain), 
and are in Yancey county. 

Roan Mountain, Mitchell county 6,306 

Big Craggy 6,090 

Table Rock, Burke county 3^918 

Hawk's Bill, " 4 090 

Amos Piatt's Balsam, Haywood county 6,278 

Brother Piatt, Haywood county 6,246 

Jones' Balsam, " 6.223 

Rocky Face, " 6,031 

Rock Stand Knob, " . 6,005 

Richland Balsam, " 6,422 

Chimney Peak 6,234 

Great Pisgah 5 757 

Cowee Ledge, Macon county 4,402 

Chimney Top, " 4563 

Scaly Mountain, •' 4 835 

Nona Mountain, " 5 542 

Wayah Peak of Nantehaleh, Macon county 5,494 

Nantehaleh Gap, Macon county 4,158 

Tusquittah Mountain, Cherokee county , 5,314 

Konahetah, Cherokee county 4 493 

Valley River Gap, Cherokee county 3,564 

Red Marble Gap, " 2,686 

Chunky Gal, Clay county 4.986 

Cheowah Maximum, Graham county 4,996 

Pinnade of Linnville 2,869 

HEIGHT OF PROMINENT PLACES, ABOVE SEA LEVEL. 

Feet 

Salisbury 76o 

Statesville 94O 

Morganton 1,140 

Marion 1,425 

Point Tunnel (first tunnel) 1,622 

Swannauoa Gap 2,657 



Swannanoa Tunnel 2,510 

Mouth of Swannanoa 1,977 

Asheville .• 2,250 

Marshall 1.684 

Warm Springs 1,325 

Paint Bock • 1.264 

Alexander's Bridge 1,796 

Waynesville 2,756 

Balsam Gap Bailroad Pass 3,411 

Mouth of Scott's Creek 1,977 

Webster C. H., Jackson county 2,203 

Franklin C. H., Macon county 2,141 

Munday 's Aquone on Nantehaleh 2,931 

Qualla Town 1.979 

Lenoir, Caldwell county 1,185 

Babun Gap 2.168 

Tennessee Biver, near Franklin 2,020 

Tennessee Biver, at mouth of Alurka 1,596 

Tennessee Biver, at State Line 1.114 

Mouth of Valley Biver 1,514 

Valley Town, Mrs. Walker'.- 1,911 

Sherville, Cheowah Biver 2,072 

NOBTH CABOLINA MOUNTAINS HIGHEB THAN ANY OTHEBS 

IN THE UNITED STATES, EAST OF THE 

MISSISSIPPI. 

Black Mountain Range. 

Feet. 

Mt. Mitchell 6,711 

Balsam Cone 6,671 

Potato Top 6,393 

Mt Gibbs 6, 391 

Bowland's Pyramid 6,348 

Smoky Mountain Range. 

Clingman's Dome 6.660 

Mt. Guyot ♦ 6,636 

Mt. Buckley 6.599 

Eoan Mountains 6,394 

Balsam Mountain Range. 

Great Divide • • ■ 6,425 

AmosPeott 6,278 

Cold Mountains 6,063 

Devil's Court House ,.,,...,,,,,, 6,049 

36 



THE METROPOLIS OF_THE LMD OF THE SKY. 

A SUMMEE EESOET AND WINTEE SANITAEIUM OF PECUN- 
IAE ADVANTAGES— EEST, QUIET AND EEPOSE IN 
MOUNTAINS 6,000 FEET HIGH — POETEY, MUSIC AND 
SONG ALONG THE EIPPDING SWANNANOA — NATUEE'S 
TEUNDIiE-BED OF EECUPEEATION. 

Asheville as far back as 1812 was a trading post, 
where the palefaces and the red men would oftentimes 
assemble to trade and barter and pass their leisure 
hours by throwing quoits for bear skins and whisky. 
Twenty-one years thereafter the place was incorporated, 
and for years was known as Morristown. This name, 
however, was afterward dropped, and the spot became 
known as Asheville, having been named in compliment 
to Samuel Ashe, of New Hanover. 

Asheville is the capital of Western North Carolina 
and the county seat of Buncombe, which county was 
formed in 1791 from Burke and Eandolph, lying imme- 
diately west of the Blue Bidge and the center of the 
transmontane section, occupying a beautiful rolling 
country down the Swannanoa and French Broad rivers, 
which streams water it freely, and along the valleys of 
which are found thousands of acres of very rich lands. 
Asheville, in the very heart of the Alleghany mountains, 
situated at the confluence of the Swannanoa and the 
French Broad rivers, among the foot-hills of the Black 
mountain range, thirteen peaks of which pierce the clouds 
at an altitude above that of Mount Washington, is pre- 
eminently a resort intended by Nature lor the invalid 
and tourist. Placed at an elevation of 2,339 feet above 
the sea, in a charming valley, with a genial, soft, yet 
bracing climate, in the midst of enchanting ssenery, this 
town has always been a place of great resort in summer 

37 



as well as in winter, and must become moi*e s6 when its 
many charms become better known. It has four or five 
hotels and numerous boarding-houses, at which pleas- 
ant lodgings and surroundings may be found. By day, 
in the season, the streets of the town are crowded with 
private equipages, parties on horseback and in buggies, 




MAIN STEEET, ASHEVILLE. 

enjoying excursions in the beautiful vicinity or going 
on to other resorts. At niglit the hotels are gay with 
music and dancing, and all goes ' ' merry as a marriage 
bell." The town has several fine churches and well- 
organized schools. The citizens are cordial and hospi- 

38 



table, at all times ready to oblige strangers and assist 
them in their plans. 

This town had so long been the resort of persons from 
the low country, before the war, that many of the 
wealthier class built themselves summer houses here, 
whither they come each year. Many of these residences 
are elegant, with neat lawns and pretty shrubbery, and 
nearly all embowered in fine shade trees of the natural 
growth, or of the fine evergreens transplanted from the 




PATTON AVENUE, FEOM COURT HOUSE, ASHEVILLE. 

higher lands. The court-house is a large building with 
a high tower— quite a striking object in the midst of the 
town. There is here also a college and a male academy, 

39 



with excellent and commodious buildings and fine 
grounds. All these give a very impressive and charm- 
ing aspect to this mountain town, especially when seen 
from any of the noble eminences which surround it to- 
ward the northwest. The climate in summer is simply 
delicious, while in winter it is invigorating and health- 
giving. It is highly recommended as a place of resort for 
consumptives, many of whom have been entirely cured in 
the first stages of the disease by a residence in this place. 
The streets are being macadamized, while water-works, 
erected to supply fresh water from a cluster of springs 
on the mountains overhanging, and other useful improve- 
ments, are being added in every direction. Thousands 
of people resort to this place every summer, seeking 
health and pleasure and rest, and from April to Novem- 
ber the hotels, boarding-houses and private residences 
are crowded with visitors ; costly equipages go rattling 
over the streets ; splendid horses prance along the ave- 
nues, bearing beauty and chivalry, wealth and joy, 
poetry and song, t6 the numerous romantic retreats, 
mountain views and gushing springs which abound in 
this lovely region. Everybody is gay in this joyous 
season, and Nature rejoices with her admirers. Nothing 
can excel the brilliant fiowers of the mountains. First, 
the graceful azaleas, bending under their load of 
red and yellow lily-like blooms ; then the pink clusters 
of the ivy, on their dark evergreen foliage for a back- 
ground, succeeded by the crowning glory of the season, 
the rich, waxy clusters, pink and white, of the royal 
rhododendron. There are great jungles of this hardy 
evergreen, with its large, glossy green leaves, matted 
in their luxuriance along every stream, and in July it 
breaks out with large bunches of flowers, made up 
of innumerable small blooms coming out from one 
foot-stalk, the whole making a most gorgeous and brill- 
iant display. No other summer resort in the country 
possesses so many attractions as this place. The 

40 




r&._ 



tourist or health-seeker may gratify his fondnes^ 
for hunting and fishing in the woods and streams. He 
will find the country rich in fauna, flora and minerals. 
He can take pleasant walks or rides and drives in every 
direction to points of special interest, as follows : Bat- 
tery Porter, Beaumont, Fernihurst, Tahkeeoskee Farm, 
Richmond Hill, Elk Mountain, Tennant's View, Straw- 
berry Hill, French Broad Eiver, Swannanoa Eiver, 
Chalybeate Springs, Yellow Sulphur Springs, White 
Sulphur Springs, Arden Park, Hickory Nut Falls, Bald 




STREET SCENE FKOM COURT HOUSE, ASHEVIELE. 

Mountain (of volcanic notoriety). Cave of the Winds, 
Pools, Chimney Bock, etc., Pisgah Mountain (altitude, 
5,757 feet). Mount Mitchell (altitude, 6,717 feet). He 
will luxuriate in a climate which for pleasantness com- 
pares favorably with that of the cities of Southern Eu- 
rope. ^ 

42 



HOW TO GET TO ASHEVILLEi 

THE EADIATINa CENTEE OF WESTEEN NOETH CAEOLINA. 

From New York — Leave Pennsylvania depot at 4 p. m. 
(via Virginia Midland), through to Asheville in Pullman 
coaches, in twenty-six hours. 

From Cincinnati — Leave at 8.10 p. m., via Louisville 
and Nashville Railroad or Cincinnati Southern, reaching 
Asheville, in Pullman coaches, in twenty-one hours. 

Through cars from Louisville, Ky., to Asheville; 
close connections at Louisville with all trains from Cin- 
cinnati, Indianapolis and Chicago. 




From Florida, Charleston and the Southeast the route 
is via Charleston and Salisbury, also via Columbia, 
Spartanburg and Hendersonville. 

From New Orleans and the Southwest the trip to Ashe- 
ville is made via Atlanta and the Piedmont Air Line, 
either by way of Spartanburg and Hendersonville, or 
Charlotte and Salisbury. 

43 



TABIiE OF ESTIMATED EATES OF FAEE, DISTANCE AND 

TIME IN TRANSIT BETWEEN ASHEVILLiE, 

N. C, AND POINTS NAMED. 



To Asheville from 


Fare. 


Distance 


H'rs. 


Route. 


New York 


$23 55 
21 65 

21 65 

17 20 
14 15 
14 15 

13 25 

22 45 
22 45 
20 20 

14 90 

10 70 
13 30 
26 50 

17 05 
12 25 
12 40 
12 75 


756 

646 

646 

519 
431 

386 

758 

617 

437 

262 
383 
915 

712 
553 
400 

427 


26 
31 

25 
24 

24 

28 

24 

18 

13 
16 
45 

34 
24 
19 
24 


Pa. R. E.. Va. Mid., and 


Jacksonville 

Jacksonville 

Savannah 


R. &D. 

S. F. & W., B. &W.. 

Cent. Ga., and R. & D. 
S. F. & W., Cent. Ga., 

and R. and D. 
Cent. Ga., and R. & D, 


Charleston 


S. C. Ry., and R. & D. 


Charleston 


At Coast L. andR.&D. 


Augusta 


R. & D. 


New Orleans 

New Orleans 

Mobile 


L. & N., W. Ala., A. & 
W. P., and R. & D. 

Q. & C, Ga Pac, and 
R. &D. 

L. & N., W. Ala., A & 


Montgomery 

Atlanta 


W. P., andR.&D 
L. & N., W. Ala., A & 

W. P, andR. & D. 
R. & D. 


Richmond 


R. &D. 


Hot Springs, Ark. . . 


St. L. I. M. & So., M. & 
L. E., N, C & St. L.. 
W. & A., and R. & D. 

L. &N., N. C. &St. L., 


Nashville 


W. & A., and E. & D. 
N. C. & St. L., W, & A., 


Louisville 


and E. & D. 
L. &N., E. T.,Va. & Ga. 


Cincinnati 


and W.N. C. 
Cin. So., orL.&N..E.T. 




Va. & Ga..and W.N.C. 



Explanation. — Pa. E. R. Pennsylvania Railroad; Va. Mid., Vir- 
ginia Midland; R. & D., Richmond and Danville Railroad System; 
S. F. & W., Savanuah, Florida and Western Railway; B. & W., Bruns - 
wick and Western Railroad; Cent. Ga,, Central Railroad of Georgia; 
S. C. Ry., South Carolina Railway ; L. & N., Louisville and Nash- 
ville Railroad ; W. Ala., Western Railway of Alabama ; A. & W. P., 
Atlantic and West Point Railroad ; St. L., I. M. & So., St. Louis 
Iron Mountain and Southern Railway ; M. & L. E., Memphis and 
Little Eock Eailroad ; N., C. & St. L., Nashville, Chattanooga and St. 
Louis Eailway : W. & A., Western and Atlantic Eailroad ; E. T., Va. 
& Ga., East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia; W. N. C, Western 
North Carolina Eailroad. 

44 



CLIMATOLOGY. 




ONDITIONS of 
climate form 
one of the first 
considerations 
in a place that 
sets up a claim 
as a resort for 
invalids. The 
advantages of 
Asheville in this 
respect have 
long been re- 
cognized and the place was a 
health resort before the war. 
A well known physician in a let- 
ter addressed to me regarding the 
climate of Buncombe county, says : 

Many of the most prominent physicians in the great 
cities have of late years turned their attention to the 
climate of this region, and it has been steadily growing 
in favor with invalids and tourists. People come from 
all parts of the civilized world on account of the climate 
and other advantages. It is especially desirable be- 
cause of its being an all-the-year climate ; in other words, 
the four seasons are equally beneficial in promoting the 
recovery of patients suffering with pulmonary, malarial, 

45 



nervous and other diseases. Thousands of invalids and 
tourists now visit Asheville annually in search of health 
and pleasure. 

During the January cold wave, which swept over the 
country from Manitoba to the southern extremity of 
Florida, Asheville, notwithstanding its elevation of 
2,339 feet, had a minimum temperature surprisingly 
high as compared with other points in the South. The 
Savannah river, at Augusta, Ga., in the latitude of 
Aiken, S. C, was frozen over, while the French Broad 
at Asheville was not. At Greenville, S. C, 1,500 feet 
below and many miles south of us, the mercury fell to 
within two degrees of the temperature of Asheville. 
And it is a well-known and conceded fact that a dry 
atmosphere in an elevated region makes a difference in 
the sensations of from ten to twenty degrees, according 
to the elevation and dryness. This was noticeable and 
remarked upon by visitors here for their health. 

THE AIB 

of this region has a peculiarly bracing and invigorating 
quality, electrical in character ; so much so that a dis- 
tinguished visitor and patient remarked to the writer : 
•'I feel as if breathing champagne." A large propor- 
tion of the days during the year are sunny, the average 
of clear days being 259, comparing well with other 
mountain resorts. There are many days in winter when 
one feels as comfortable in the sunshine as he would in 
June ; and in February there are days when ladies can 
go to the woods with their lunch baskets on picnicking 
excursions. 

DRYNESS. 

The rainfall is very small, being 40.2 inches, while 
that of Aiken is 55; Atlanta, 62.7; and Jacksonville, 
Fla., 65.6 inches. The configuration of the surface is 
such that the water runs off very rapidly, and the air 
does not become saturated with moisture, as it does 

46 



elsewhere, being as dry soon after a shower as though 
it had not rained. 

According to the climatic maps prepared by Prof. 
Charles Denison, A. M., M. D., of Denver, Col., 
and based on data furnished by the Signal Service Bu- 
reau, at Washington, D. C, a small tract of country 
surrounding Asheville is dryer in winter than any other 
point east of the great plains. During the spring 
months the air is shown to be as dry as that of Middle 
Kansas ; in the summer months the air of Asheville 
corresponds in humidity to the dry region surrounding 
San Antonio, Texas ; while the atmosphere during the 
autumn is as dry as that of New Braunf els, a few miles 
east of San Antonio. 

TEMPEKATUEE. 

Asheville possesses a winter temperature several de- 
grees warmer than that of Geneva, Switzerland, and 
Turin, Italy, and fourteen degrees warmer than that of 
Davos, in the Swiss Alps, where a thousand patients are 
sent every winter by the specialists of Europe for the 
beneficial effects of its mountain air. 

Regarding the spring and summer months, it is suffi- 
cient to state that during a period of eight years the 
mercury but twice rose above 88 degrees, and that the 
maximum temperature of St. Paul, Minn., is from 12 to 
15 degrees higher than that of Asheville. 

I wish especially to impress upon the mind of the 
reader the fact that nearly all invalids going to the very 
high altitude of Colorado on the one hand, or to the low 
country in the vicinity of the Gulf or Atlantic coast on 
the other, must become acclimatized before real im- 
provement can take place ; while to any one coming to 
the medium altitude and relatively equable climate of 
Western North Carolina nothing of the kind is neces- 
sary. 

HEALTHFULNESS. 

Nearly all of the great authorities on climate in its 

47 



relation to pulmonary diseases agree upon the impor- 
tance of the following conditions : 1st. Altitude. Prof. 
Loomis writes that his "best results, when evidences 
of consolidation were present, have been obtained in 
mountain regions 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the sea," and 
mentions Asheville as a place where his ' ' most decid- 
edly beneficial and permanent results have been ob- 
tained." 2d. Dryness and purity of air. The air of 
Asheville -possesses these qualities in an eminent de- 
gree. 3d. Coolness of air temperature and warmth of sun 
temperature. These also obtain at Asheville. 4th. The 
rarefaction and low pressure of the air. 5th. The 
intensity of the light. Asheville possesses the advan- 
tage of all the above qualities, and their effect on the 
visitor is to increase the appetite and strength, cause 
sound sleep, and aid toward nervous energy and the ac- 
tivity of the skin. 

Dr. Huntington Richards, of New York, writing in 
"Wood's Reference Hand-Book of the Medical Sci- 
ences," states that Asheville is a " medium-altitude " 
resort, "and, short of the often inconveniently distant 
Rocky Mountain Plateau, no better elevated winter and 
summer resort for phthisical (consumptive) patients 
exists in the territory of the United States— probably 
none as good." And J. A. Reagan, A. M., M. D., of 
Weaverville (six miles from Asheville), states that in 
his thirty years' practice he has not seen a case of " spo- 
radic" consumption. 

It should be remembered that the same conditions 
which tend to prevent and cure diseases of the lungs 
will have a similar effect upon such affections as mala- 
ria, scrofula and diseases of women and children. Re- 
garding malaria, its absence from this region may be 
easily understood when, according to Prof. Henry 0. 
Marcy, A. M., M. D., of Boston, Mass., who went 
through this entire section in the saddle and carriage, 
« ' not a lake or a swamp is to be found in the entire re^ 



gion — a fact perhaps without parallel, for an area of 
equal extent, in the world." 

In concluding his paper on • ' Western North Carolina 
AS a Health Eesort," Dr. Marcy says : "The pure air, 
water and climate hold out a hopeful helpfulness to in- 
valids from every land. The wise legislator seeking 
far-reaching results would do well to consider the ad- 
visability of securing, under State control, a large res- 
ervation of the higher ranges as a park. Its cost at 
present would be merely nominal. Like the peaks and 
glaciers of Switzerland, its indirect returns of monetary 
gain would be more sure than bonded interest, and its 
sanitary advantages would be of a value incalculable to 
millions yet unborn." 

AVEKAGE TEMPEKATUEE AT ASHEVILLE. 

Degrees. 

January 38.1 

February 39.8 

March 44.7 

April 53.9 

May 61.5 

June 69 1 

July 71 9 

August 70.7 

September 63.8 

October 52.8 

November 43 9 

December 37.3 

THE CLIMATE OF ASHEVILLE COMPAEED TO FAMOUS 
EUEOPEAN EESOETS. 

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter. Tear. 

Asheville 54.3 71.3 55.3 37.2 55.3 

Geneva 52.2 70 3 54 2 34.0 52.7 

Turin 53 7 71.5 53 8 33.5 53 1 

Vienna 56 2 71.8 54 6 38,7 55.3 

Milan 549 72 8 55.9 36 1 54 9 

EAINFALL AT ASHEVILLE. 

Spring 10 1 in, ] Autumn 7.1 in. 

Summer 13 5 in. I Winter 9 5 in. 

Total 40.2 in. 

49 



EEASONS WHY WESTEEN NOETH CAEOLINA IS THE MOST 
DESIEABLE HEALTH EESOET IN THE UNITED STATES. 

Because it has a large proportion of sunny days. 

Because Prof. Chas. Denison's " climatic maps" show 
it to possess an air as dry as that of Middle Kansas, 
and San Antonio, Texas. 

Because it has an altitude of 2,000 to 4,000 feet above 
th« sea. 

Because it is within easy reach of all the chief cities 
of the United States. 

Because it possesses the only all-the-year climate. 

Because it is in a region of the most beautiful scenery. 

Because it has a smaller rainfall than any other 
Southern resort. 

Because the summer temperature is cooler than that 
of St. Paul, Minn. 

Because the winters are sufficiently mild for most in- 
valids to take daily out-of-door exercise. 

Because it is recommended by Prof. Alfred L. Loomis, 
M. D., Henry 0. Marcy, M. D., Charles Kearns, M. D., 
G. C. E. Weber, M. D., Henry F. Biggar, M. D., and 
hundreds of other physicians of eminence. 




HAPPY VALLEY. 



POPULARITY AS A HEALTH RESORT. 




BEAT crowds in 
both summer and 
winter attest Ashe- 
ville's growth and 
popularity as a 
health resort, as 
well as a winter san- 
itarium. Says Dr. 
Henry 0. Marcy, of 
Boston, a distin- 
guished " physician : "Within the last two or three 
years I have sent a considerable number of invalids 
to Asheville, with excellent results." From all parts 
of the country flock people to this mountain city 
of peculiar beauty and interest. There were re- 
gistered last year in the city over 30,000 visitors, and 
in contemplation of a large increase of invalids, tourists 
and pleasure seekers, a magnificent hotel has been con- 
structed on Battery Porter, one of the most commanding 
sites in the city, and christened Battery Park Hotel. 

51 



This establishment affords all the modern conven- 
iences, including hydraulic elevator and Edison electric 
lights, is luxuriously equipped throughout, has ample 
water supply, perfect sanitary arrangements, spacious 
rooms, and commands a view that is unequaled in 
America and seldom surpassed, even in Switzerland, re- 
nowned for its sublime landscape scenes. 




BATTERY PARK HOTEL, ASHEVILLE, N. C. 



As one stands in the hotel his glance first falls on the 
pretty town of Asheville, and as he looks further, the 
scene changes as if by magic, and the beautiful and fer- 
tile valley, with the two glistening streams winding 
through it like two silver threads, unfolds itself to his 
admiring eyes, and further still he sees on all sides high 
and rugged mountains, guarding jealously this pretty 
valley of Western North Carolina, in the same. manner 
as centuries ago, the high mountains of the Pelopon- 
nesus protected the beautiful and fertile land of the 

52 



Spartans from the inroads and attacks of the barbar- 
ians. 

Any information pertaining to the Hotel or its busi- 
ness will be cheerfully furnished by Charles H. South- 
wick, Proprietor. 

The increased building of summer houses by people 
from afar attests the popularity of this place as a resort of 
great attractiveness. 

The proprietors of the ever-popular Swannanoa, well 
and favorably known as the tourists' hotel, are making 
arrangements to meet the increased travel this spring 
and summer. This hotel is home-like, comfortable and 
convenient, and the proprietors, Messrs. Rawls Bros., 
are gentlemen of exceptional address, courtesy and 
affability of manner. Besides being hosts in the hotel* 
keeping sense, they are hosts in themselves in the way 
of making guests feel comfortable under the hospitable 
roof of the "Old Swannanoa." This hotel, recently 
enlarged and improved both for winter and summer 
travel, is ever keeping pace with the times in the pro- 
vision of all the modern appointments and comforts. 

Situated in a valley 3,000 feet high, with mountains 
around as high again, with invigorating breezes full of 
pure oxygenated air, with a climate mild, pleasant and 
invigorating ; having the advantages of altitude of 
country, freedom of its air from dust, excellent drain- 
age, clear skies, spring water and invigorating breezes, 
it is no wonder that Asheville recommends itself to the 
invalid, the tourist and the pleasure-seeker. 



53 



PLACES OF INTEREST 



IN AND ABOUND ASHEVILLE — SUGGESTIONS FOR WALKS, 
EIDES AND DBIVES. 

I am indebted to Mr. Charles Lathrop Pack, of Cleve- 
land, . Ohio, for the following excellent description of 
the many places of interest near Asheville. Mr. Pack 
has been an extensive traveler, not only in this country 
but throughout Europe, and his descriptions of the sev- 
eral places mentioned are exceedingly well drawn and 
true to nature. Mr. Pack rode or drove over the whole 
of the section described, specially for the purpose of 
insuring the strict fidelity of this account. 

ANY visitors to 
Asheville, and 
particularly 
seekers after 
health and lovers 
of Nature, find 
their greatest at- 
traction in the 
daily excursions 
which can be 
made into the 
surround ing 
country. The 
variety of agreeable walks for the pedestrian is sur- 
passed only by the attractiveness of the roads, paths 
and trails suitable for riding or driving. For a moun- 
tainous region, the roads about Asheville are numerous 
and excellent. Drives may be extended for miles up 

54 




and down the banks of the French Broad or Swannanoa 
river, or across the country, as fancy may suggest. 

Battery Porter, in the central part of the town, is 
a fine hill, commanding a beautiful view of the west- 
ern mountains, and is a popular morning or evening walk. 
A roadway from Patton avenue leads to the summit. 
Here the new Battery Park Hotel is erected. 

Beaucatcher is the popular name of the small mountain 
east of the town. Two good roads lead to the gap just 
at the entrance to Mr. Hazzard's private grounds on the 
summit. Visitors are permitted to ascend by the drive- 
way to the lawn surrounding the house, where the finest 
view of the town is obtained. The distance from the 
public square is about one mile, and the climb is highly 
commended for the view of sunrise or sunset. 

Town Mountain is about one mile northeast of the 
town. The way there is via College street, leaving the 
public square at the northeast corner. Passing the col- 
lege grounds on the left, the city reservoir is seen on 
the lower side of Town Mountain. The road to the 
summit turns sharply to the left and passes the reser- 
voir. Many think the finest view of the town is ob- 
tained from this road. 

A favorite drive is across the French Broad river to 
Richmond Hill about three and one-half miles north- 
west. The road thither is the first one to the right from 
Hayward street after passing Battery Park. About a 
mile from town the road enters the grounds of Mr. Eich- 
mond Pierson through the outer boundary gate. The 
French Broad river is crossed on a private bridge, after 
which the way passes up an easy slope to the inner gate ; 
thence along a shady ridge covered with forest trees, 
like an English park, a final climb leading to the 
rustic house on the summit. The charm of the view is 
its variety and the frequent gleamings of the river, with 
views of the town and mountains. 

Tahkeeoskee Farm, on the French Broad river, oppo 

55 



site the railway station, is some three miles from the 
square, via Patton avenue and the iron bridge. After 
crossing the river, the Sulphur Springs and Waynesville 
road turns to the left. The entrance to the farm, at 
which a sign is displayed, is a short distance beyond. 
The public are welcome, and the driveways are inviting 
and afford a pleasant view of the river and its pictur- 
esque and shady banks. 

Strawberry Hill, the property of Mr. J. Adger Clark, 
is a mile further on, and should be visited for the view. 

Sulphur Springs, further on in this direction, is about 
five miles from town. The road thither is pleasant, but 
the springs themselves are unattractive. 

Fernihurst, the property of Mr. Connally, is two miles 
south of Asheville, the route leaving the main road 
at the second turn to the right after crossing Town 
Branch, at the foot of Main street hill. The mountain 
view is grand, with a pleasant pastoral foreground of 
fields, river and valley. In the immediate foreground is 
the junction of the Swannanoa and French Broad 
rivers. 

Gouche's Peak and Elk Mountain are between four 
and five miles north of the town, and are favorite points 
for a morning trip on horseback. The way is via the 
Beaver Dam road, leaving the main street a short dis- 
tance north of the post-ofQce. 

Five miles southwest of Asheville is Antler Hall, or 
Tennant's, one of the best examples of an old-time plan- 
tation residence to be found in this region. The rich 
bottom lands along the French Broad river, with the 
mountains in the background, over which grandly tow- 
ers old Pisgah, nearly 6,000 feet high, combine to form 
a view well worth a much longer journey. The visitor 
should take the main Hendersonville highway south, 
down Main street to the biidge over the Swannanoa 
river (two miles) ; cross the bridge and turn immediately 
to the right. This road divides at the "Haunted 

56 



House," a picturesque ivy-covered building near the 
Swannanoa ford. In going to Tennant's, keep to the 
right hand along the river ; further on the road leaves the 
river, and after climbing a long hill and passing through 
two gates, the house and best point for a view is reached. 
The Swannanoa Drive is one of the best. The road 
leaves the Henderson ville highway just before crossing 
the iron bridge over the Swannanoa river, two miles 
south of town. The way is up the river, along its ro- 
mantic and picturesque banks. In the spring, when the 
wild rhododendrons, kalmia and azaleas are in bloom, 
the beauty of this excursion is greatly enhanced. In 
returning, take the road leading to town over the top of 
Beaucatcher, which is rather steep, but shorter than the 
way taken in setting out. The Beaucatcher road leaves 
the Swannanoa at Mr. Cheesborough's private wooden 
bridge, the first up the river after leaving the Hender- 
sonville highway. 

Arden Park Hotel is ten miles south of Asheville, a 
short distance to the west of the Hendersonville road. 
The hotel, with its cottages, attracts in summer a very 
congenial company, and the table is home-like and excel- 
lent. Visitors frequently drive or ride to Arden for din- 
ner, or remain to the frequent entertainments, returning 
to town by moonlight. The hotel is closed in winter. 

Alexander's was a celebrated old-time wayside house 
when the coach road through the French Broad pass 
was the only means of travel between Tennessee and 
the West and the Carolinas. Its inviting homeliness 
and its antiquated air of comfort and good cheer attract 
many strangers during the warm weath er . The distance 
is ten miles from Asheville, following Main street north 
and thence taking the load down the river. The trip is 
more pleasant on horseback than by carriage, as the old 
coach road is rocky and rough in places where it en- 
croaches upon the river. The view of the rapids of the 
French Broad well repays the time spent. The dis- 

57 




-So^'f^iTM/co 



A DEIVE ON THE FRENCH BKOAD EIVEE. 



tance to Alexander's by rail is the same as by the high- 
way. 

The foregoing list of places of interest and shorter ex- 
cursions is by no means intended to exhaust the subject, 
but only to serve as a nucleus around which the reader 
may gather such facts as suit his individual taste. Only 
prominent localities are here outlined, leaving a wide 
field untouched. Few regions afford such opportunities 

58 



for individual exploration and discovery as the country 
about Asheville ; and every lover of Nature who makes 
a prolonged stay is sure to find many delightful nooks 
and corners, byways and paths that are unknown to the 
average resident. 

MOUNTAIN EXCUKSIONS. 

Asheville is the best starting point for a great variety 
of mountain trips, which are unsurpassed in beauty and 
grandeur of scenery by those possible in any region in 
the eastern portion of our country, not excepting the 
Adirondacks or the White Mountains. Conveyances 
and saddle horses and mules are to be had at several 
places in town. A guide, or driver who will also act as 
guide, is almost necessary in ascending Mount Mitchell, 
Craggy mountain, Mount Pisgah or Eoan mountain, and 
the trip to Hickory Nut Gap, Buck Forest or Caesar's 
Head will be found much more interesting with some one 
to point out the way and places of interest. Mr. Howells, 
to be found at Mr. J. V. Sevier's livery stable, just be- 
low the Swannanoa Hotel, is an excellent guide and a 
gentleman whom all will do well to consult in making 
plans for mountain expeditions. 

Mount Mitchell, the highest of the Black mountains, 
with an altitude of 6,717 feet, is the highest land east of 
the Eocky Mountains. Three days are required for a 
full enjoyment of the trip, including a night spent at 
the shelving rocks or cave on the summit to see the sun- 
set and sunrise. "Warm clothing and blankets also, if a 
night is to be passed on the top, are required even in 
summer, as the high peak has an atmosphere of its own. 
The way is up the Swannanoa, most of the way along the 
banks. Some eighteen miles from town is Patton's, the 
usual place for meals or spending a night. Here, too, 
guides and saddle animals can be obtained, as the real 
ascent must be made in the saddle, a steep climb of 
three or four hours. The scene from the summit is 
grand. The writer, who has ascended other mountains 

59 



in this country and in Europe, can recommend it very 
highly. 

Mount Pisgah, with an altitude of 5,757 feet, is some 
twenty miles southwest. A bridle path leads to the high 




MOUNT MITCHELL. 

peak, passing over the back of "The Rat." Saddle ani- 
mals for the ascent should be taken from town, but a 
good wagon road goes as far as the quaint and popular 
mountain farm-house known as "the Widow Davis's," 
at the foot of the mountain. Here good meals and 
lodging can be obtained. Everything is home-made, 
even to the hand-woven blankets and sheets. Visitors 

60 



go to this farm-house the first day, remain overnight, 
make the ascent and return to the house the next day, 
and on the third return to Asheville. This makes an 
easy and delightful three days' excursion. 




'^'T-HT&B^iV:) T 



C^SAE'b HEAD. 



Eoan Mountain, via Bakersville, is about seventy 
miles nearly northeast from Asheville. The Cloudland 
Hotel suggests an airy perch, as it is, being 6,250 feet 

61 



above the sea. The High Knob is 6,306 feet above the 
sea. Travelers going north can go to the Koan by car- 
riage, and thence to Johnson City, and north via the 
East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Kailroad. The 
rhododendrons on the Koan are a rare sight, with their 
blaze of color, when in bloom. 

Caesar's Head, a splendid eminence at the southern 
extremity of Transylvania, stretching across the South 
Carolina line, affords a sweeping and almost unlimited 
outlook over the lowlands. The distance is forty-five 
miles south from Asheville. A delightful trip can be 
made via Brevard, twenty-eight miles. The tourist can 
remain here over night, and drive to Cesar's Head (six- 
teen miles) the next day, via Buck Forest, famous for 
its fish and game. The hotel at Ctesar's Head is well 
patronized during the summer. 

Hickory Nut Gap claims manifold attractions, and the 
trip is readily accomplished on horseback, or by buggy or 
carriage. Crossing the Swannanoa, the road leads south- 
east after passing the railway. High Falls is twenty-two 
miles distant. The scenery is peculiarly beautiful. Chim- 
ney Kock and the Pools should not be out of the trip. 
By spending the night at Mrs. Sherrill's, near the top 
of the Gap, the beauties of the region can all be seen 
in two days. 

The following is a list of places of interest in and 
around Asheville, with distance in miles : 

Name. Miles. 

Tower of Swannanoa Hotel in town. 

Battery Porter " 

Beaumont (altitude nearly 2,800 feet) " 

Top Town Mountain " 1 

Fernihurst (Connally's View) 2 

Tahkeeosliee Farm 3 

Richmond Hill (Pearson's View) 4 

Gouche's Peak (Duffields View) 5 

Elk Mountain 5 

Tennant's View 5 

62 



strawberry Hill (Clark's Farm) 4: 

French Broad River, nearest point, 1 mile ; drives of 1 to 50 

S wann an oa River, nearest point, 2 miles ; drives of 1 to 10 

Lee's Chalybeate Springs (Iron) 2 

Sulphur Springs (Yellow) 5 

Blackwell's Sulphur Springs (White) 12 

Arden Park 10 

Reams Creek Falls 10 

Alexander's Falls 10 

Warm Springs, on French Broad River 37 

Waynesville White Sulphur Springs 31 

Hickory Nut Falls 22 

Bald Mountain (of volcanic notoriety) 25 

Cave of the Winds, Pools, Chimney Rocks, etc 25 

Pisgah Mountain (altitude, 5,757 feet) 20 

Swannanoa Gap 18 

Craggy Mountain, to foot, 14 miles ; to top (altitude 6,090 It.) 18 

Mt. Mitchell, to foot, 18 miles ; to top (altitude, 6,717 ft.).- • 28 

Caesar's Head 45 

Roan Mountain (altitude, 6,306 feet) 72 

Henderson ville 21 

Buck Forest 35 



PLEASANT PLACES OF SOJOURN IN 
WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA. 

BATTERY PARK HOTEL. 

This new house, built by gentlemen interested in the 
Western North Carolina Eailroad, is completed and in 
readiness for the summer season of 1886. It is expected 
that the house will at once take a leading position. The 
situation is remarkably good , Just aside from the business 
of the town, yet near enough to be convenient. The 
view from the hotel porches is unsurpassed. The struct- 
ure is of wood after designs by Philadelphia architects, 
and there are modern conveniences, including a passen- 
ger elevator. 

LIST OF HOTELS AND OTHER BOARDING PLACES. 

Swannanoa Hotel, South Main street ; Battery Park 
Hotel, on Battery Porter; Eagle Hotel, South Main 
street; Carolina House, North Main street; Pease's, 

63 




SUNSET HOUSE, EESIDENCE OF L. lH. PEASE. 

South Main street, one mile from town ; Mountain Cot- 
tage, Main street ; Arden Park Hotel and Cottages, ten 
miles south of town; Antler Hall or Tennant's, five 
miles from town; Mrs. Cape's, College street; 
Chunn's, Patton avenue; McDowell's, South Main 
street. Beside these a large number of private houses 
are open for boarders during the summer season. 

64 



WAEM SPKINGS. 

Some forty miles from Astieville, down the valley of 
the French Broad, are the Warm Springs, which have 
had a considerable reputation for many years on ac- 
count of the valuable medicinal qualities of their waters. 
Before the war, as since, the large hotel at the Springs, 
which was burned in 1885, was a popular rendezvous for 
the people of the lower Atlantic and Gulf States. Since 
the burning of the hotel and buildings, the only accom- 
modations have been those obtainable at a tew private 
houses. Kecently (in 1886) a company composed of 
Northern and Southern gentlemen has purchased the 
Springs property, and is erecting a large, first-class hotel 
which will liave accommodation for several hundred 
guests. The grounds are being improved, and the baths 
thoroughly rebuilt in a luxurious manner. The Warm 
Springs are literally warm pools, rising to the surface 
near the river. The temperature is from 102 degrees to 
104 degrees Fahrenheit. The water is efficacious in 
cases of rheumatism, paralysis, and similar muscular 
or nervous ailments. Nine hundred feet lower than 
Asheville, the place has an altitude of about thirteen 
hundred feet, and is very healthful. Passengers via 
the Western North Carolina Railroad from the West, 
enter the picturesque portion of the French Broad river 
country after leaving the Warm Springs. 

WATNESVILLE, HAYWOOD WHITE SULPHUK SPRINGS. 

Thirty-eight miles south of the Warm Springs, and 
thirty-two west of Asheville, being a day's ride from 
either place by carriage, are the White Sulphur Springs. 
From Asheville the trip can be made by railroad in a 
few hours. Here are situated the celebrated sulphur 
springs which have gained so much notoriety for the 
cure of rheumatism, gout, lassitude, and all of the 
cutaneous diseases. The new hotel is one of the most 
modern erections in this section of the country, and con- 
tains the latest improvements. 

65 




^our^fTu^ (^^^^ 



A DillVE OJJ THE SWANNANOA EIVER. 



ASHEVILLE'S CONTINUOUS GROWTH. 

In 1860 Asheville had a population of 1,400 ; to-day 
the population is put down at 5,000. The assessed val- 
uation of property in 1860 was $300,000; in 1885 it was 
$1,095,292. 

I am indebted to the kindness and courtesy of Mr. 
T. W. Patton for the following official statistics regard- 
ing Asheville's progress from 1880 to 1885. Here are 
the figures as taken from the official record : 

ASSESSED VALUATION OF PKOPEKTY IN 1880. 
Number of acres of land in the county 333 fi33 

^*l^a*io" '.'.$1,322,294: 

Number of town lots 43g 

Valuation of town lots I51Y 281 

Aggregate value of real and personal property $2,748,867 

ASSESSED VALUATION OF PEOPEKTY IN 1885. 

Number of acres of land in the county 333 533 

^■^^^^t^on .'!!.' .'$1,651,443 

Number of town lots 32^ 

Valuation of town lots |2 095 292 

Aggregate value of real and personal property. $4,473,217 

These figures speak volumes for Asheville's growth, 
and point clearly to the fact that within a few more 
years the figures reached will double those which illus- 
trate the present. This assertion is strengthened by 
the fact that within the past month several large sale& 
have been made to Northern capitalists, who propose to 
erect manufacturing establishments within the city 
limits. In every avenue of business there is an activity 
which argues well for the continued prosperity and 
growth of this charming mountain town. 

COMMEECIAL ADVANTAGES. 

The Western North Carolina Railroad, a part of the 
Eichmond and Danville System, affords the readiest and 
most interesting access to a country which has been 
well described by Mr. King in his articles on " The Great 
South " in Scribner's Monthly, and over which the pen of 
the gifted Miss Fisher, of Salisbury, N. C, has thrown, 

67 



the glamour of romance. It is a region which is to-day 
largely frequented both by tourists and invalids. Few 
regions present greater attractions of wild natural 
scenery, and none in the whole range of the AUeghanies 
holds greater promise of relief to invalids in its fine 
climate, its mineral waters, and pleasant summer re- 
treats. From almost any point of this railroad, after it 
enters the mountains, as also from its terminus, deli- 
cious cool resorts may be reached, where living is 
'Cheap, the climate and water delightful, and the scenery 
enchanting. 

This road passes through the heart of the State in a 
direction almost due west, traversing the counties of 
Kowan, Iredell, Catawba, Burke and McDowell, to the 
top of Swannanoa Pass of the Blue Eidge, a distance of 
more than 150 miles. It is projected and constructed 
to Warm Springs, in Madison county, near the western 
boundary of the State, where it connects with the East 
Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Kailroad, and in an- 
other direction toward Waynesville and "Webster, in the 
southwestern part of the State, thus forming a grand 
connection not only with the entire western part of 
North Carolina, opening up one of the finest regions ol 
the State, but giving also another line of trans- 
• port to the productions of the great West to the sea- 
board. Since the completion of the Spartanburg and 
Asheville Kailroad, the connections with Charleston, 
Augusta, Savannah, Atlanta and all points south and 
southwest afford expeditious travel from those sections. 

Said Mr. Edward King in his description of "The 
Great South," in Scribner's Monthly, in 1874 : 

*' Western North Carolina is not only exceedingly fer- 
tile, but abounds in the richer minerals, and needs but 
the magic wand of the capitalist waved over it to be- 
come one of the richest sections of this Union. Occu- 
pying one-third of the entire area of the State, and pos- 
sessing more than a quarter of a million of inhabitants, 

68 



its present prospects are by no means disagreeable ; but 
its prominent citizens, of all walks of life, are anxious 
for immigration and development of the rich stores of 
gold, iron, copper, mica, and other minerals now buried 
in the hills. Let no one fancy that this mountain re- , 
gion is undesirable as an agricultural country; there 
are few richer and better adapted to European emigra- 
tion. The staple productions are tobacco, corn, wheat, 
rye, oats and hay ; all vegetables grow abundantly, and 
the whole country is admirably fitted for grazing. The 
level bottom lands are under fine cultivation ; the up- 
lands and slopes produce rich wheat ; the ash, the sugar 
maple, the hickory and the oak are abundant ; and white 
pine is rafted down the Pigeon river in large quantities 
yearly. But the exceptional fertility of most of the 
ranges throughout all the counties is the great pride of 
the section. The sides and tops of the mountains are, 
in many cases covered with a thick vegetable mold, 
in which grow flourishing trees and rank grasses. Five 
thousand feet above the sea level one finds grasses and 
weeds that remind him of the lower swamp regions. 
Cattle are kept in excellent condition all winter on the 
"evergreen" growing along the sides of the higher 
chains. "Winter and summer, before the ravages of the 
war thinned out their stocks, the farmers kept hundreds 
of cattle on the mountains, feeding entirely on grasses. 

EESOUKCES. 

The valleys of the French Broad and Swannanoa offei 
for all kinds of husbandry an inviting field, while the 
climatic conditions are more than favorable. Agricul- 
ture is one of the great interests of the section tributary 
to Asheville, while the forest growth is a subject now 
attracting the attention of capitalists. In the country 
contiguous to the place there are to be found the yellow 
pine, oak of almost every variety, black walnut, chest- 
nut, locust, poplar, black birch, cherry, maple, syca- 

69 



more, mulberry, sassafras, dogwood, and other well- 
known varieties of native woods. 

Nearly 160 minerals, simple and compound, are found 
in Western North Carolina, many of them being ex- 
tremely rare and of great value. In the French Broad 
valley gold exists in many localities, while future ex- 
ploration will no doubt lead to other discoveries. This 
county possesses immense wealth in mica, this section 
supplying nearly one-half the world's demand. 

The water power is almost incomparable. The French 
Broad at Asheville is estimated at 125 horse power, and 
at Warm Springs, 170 horse power, which gives for the 
part of the river from Asheville to the state line 100,000 
horse power. At Brevard, in Transylvania, the horse 
power is placed at 45, which adds 10,000 ; and the tribu- 
taries, like the Swannanoa, Ivy, Laurel, etc., represent 
5,000 each, so that the French Broad may be set down 
at 175,000 horse power. 

As a fruit-growing section Asheville enjoys peculiar 
advantages. Apples, peaches, pears and apricots thrive 
well, and find a congenial home among these Southern 
mountains. As for apples, there is probably no section of 
country where they flourish so well as in Western North 
Carolina. The Centennial medal at Philadelphia 
awarded for fine apples was taken by a gentleman liv- 
ing not far from this place, and in the following year, 
at the American Pomological Society's meeting, in the 
city of Baltimore, the same individual was awarded the 
Wilder medal for 100 varieties of the finest apples. 

EAILEOAD FACILITIES. 

The great Piedmont Air Line, embracing the Virginia 
Midland Kailway, the Eichmond and Danville Eailroad, 
and the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line, and connecting 
Washington, D. C, and Eichmond, Va., with Atlanta, 
Ga., presents not only one of the shortest and most 
picturesqe lines of travel between the North and 

70 



South, but offers excellent accommodations to the trav- 
eling public. The new management, ably assisted by 
Col. A. B. Andrews, one of the most progressive railroad 
men in the South, have determined to make this moun- 
tain road the route par excellence in every particular, 
equally as regards importance of country traversed. 




INTERIOE or ASHEVILLE CLUB. 

excellence of service, and comfort and luxury of travel. 
This railroad passes through four great states, and along 
a line nearly parallel with the mountains through al- 
most the finest portions of these states. The whole 
region traversed is emphatically a piedmont region — 
a fine undulating country, a country of " hills and run- 
ning streams," watered by noble rivers, bordered by the 
Blue mountains, and at one time, before the destruction 
of values by the war, the most productive and prosper- 
ous in the South ; and one which is destined, in the 
not distant future, to form the very body and substance 
of the several states in which it is comprised. Beside the 
attractions which the main line presents, its connections 

71 



at different points with lines of railroad leading west- 
ward, especially in its connections in North and South 
Carolina with roads leading into the mountains of North 
Carolina, . Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, have 
laid open to tourists and seekers after health and pleas- 
ure a region of romantic beauty hitherto almost unvis- 
ited by reason of inaccessibility. The mountain region 
of North Carolina — appropriately called "The Land of 
the Sky "—into the heart of which one is now comforta- 




ESMEKALDA'S CABIN, BALD MOUNTAIN. 

bly carried in the most luxurious of coaches, must 
nr - ^ssarily soon become a country of great resort, as 
well for pleasure as for health. No part of Ihe Appa- 
lachian range presents more attractive scenery, and 
none such excellence of climate. 

The Western North Carolina Kailroad, the great 
mountain artery of the Eichmond and Danville System, 
has been the life-giving principle to this region. It is 

72 



by far the most complete and thoroughly equipped 
mountain railroad in this country, and the most pic- 
turesque and pleasant to travel over. This road was 
first projected over thirty years ago. A charter was 
granted in 1854, the first ground being broken the same 
year At the beginning of the late war, Icard station 
had been reached. After many halts by the way, Mor- 
ganton was reached in 1866, Old Fort in 1871, Henry's 
in 1876, and Asheville in September, 1880. Now connec- 
tions are made at Paint Eock, the boundary line of Ten- 
nessee and North Carolina, with the East Tennessee, 
Virginia and Georgia system of railroads, and, by the 
completion of the Knoxville and Ohio Kailroad, Ashe- 
ville is only twenty-four hours from Louisville. 

Col. A. B. Andrews, the President of this road, has 
devoted time and energy, as well as labor, to its work- 
ing system, and his far-seeing ability and foresight as a 
railroad man have insured great good, not only to 
this mountain country, which for years was undeveloped, 
but to the State at large. In his work he has been ably 
assisted by Mr. V. E. McBee, the Superintendent, who 
is ever studying the interest of the great traA^eling 
public. 

THE PEOPLE. 

The people in the mountains of Western North Caro- 
lina are kind, hospitable and generous to a fault. In 
the most humble cabin, away from the sounds of trade 
and traffic, in their little mountain homes 4,000 or 
5,000 feet above the ocean's roar, one can see the sim- 
plicity of rural life exhibited as nowhere else to be see^-, 
on this vast continent. Here these good people toil and 
labor, live and die amid Nature's great handiwork, ob- 
livious of the great throbs and pulsations of a cosmo- 
politan life. It may well be said they symbolize the 
myriads of earth's toiling masses, and as we listen to 
their passing footfalls, we seem to hear 

" The still, sad music of humanity." 
73 



A FEW INDIAN NAMES AND THEIE EQUIVALENTS. 

Alleghany — Endless. Chickamauga — Biver of Death. 

Tahkeeoskee — Racing river. Swannanoa l^oisy river, or 

Ocklawaha — Slowly moving water i Nymph of beauty. 

Minnehaha — Smiling water. Yona — Bear. 

Tuckaseege — Terrapin. Salucater — Corn bread. 

Nantahala l"^^® ^'^^ between, or Tawhalageska — Power. 

1^ A maiden's bosom. Culasaga — Sugar. 
Potomac — Come by water. Toiusta — Coffee. 

Savannah — Place of beauty. Waka — Cow. 

CoJehmayeth — Raven water. Catate — Whisky. 

Pocasen — The land of lead. Kentneka— Negro. 

Satoola — Near at hand. Unaka — ^White man. 

B<ppahannock — The current Chelatuckalala — Fire wagon, or 

comes again. steam car. 

Cullasaja — Sweet water. Colaqua — Gun. 

Watauga — The river of islands. Wataheakahoocha — Pretty girl. 
Paptaps'co — Backwater. Scositayouyaw unaka — Mean 

Chesapeake — Superior saltish bay. white man. 
A imachumahut — Long stream. Chuna steek — Little baby. 
Chowan— Southern people. Occenolla — Good morning. 

Wackena — A creek. Cochaliaa — Where you going ? 

Oharho — Tobacco. Cochawhata — Where you been? 

Chuteche — A peak. Sutta — Fish., 

Nickreruroh — An Englishman. Yanka — Fork, pin or needle. 
Entequos — A man. Cholaaquatoolla — I want a chew 

Counoowa — A woman. of tobacco. 

Kateocca — A wife. Igale — I reckon. 

Wattatloowatse — A lazy fellow. Clantnochigatta — I don't know. 
Oo-teighne — Let's smoke. Johnelica— All right. 

Oukwockaninniwock — Let's take Kawhala — Paper. 

a drink. Tala — Money. 

Connaughjost twane — All the In- Delonega — Gold money. 

dians are drunk. Unaka tala — Silver money. 

Wessa — Cat creek. Conahana — Hominy. 

Ketla— Dog. Kanigatah — Haven't got it. 

Note. — These names and their significations were obtained after 
many months' research in this State, as well as in Washington City. 



MOUNTAIN BREEZES. 
Nowhere in the State will the tourist and the invalid, 
as well as the pleasure seeker, find such excellent hotel 

74 



accommodations as are to be found among the moun- 
tains of Western North Carolina. 

A word to those suffering with rheumatism, gout or 
any of the cutaneous diseases : Come to the celebrated 
Warm Springs in Western North Carolina, where you 
will find the " Fountain of Youth," and hot baths unsur- 
passed on this continent. Beside these advantages, a 
magnificent new hotel, with all the modern improve- 
ments, is one of the special attractions of this widely- 
lamed resort. 

Col. E. B. Thomas, General Manager of the Eichmond 
and Danville Kailroad System, and Col. A. B. Andrews, 
President of the Western North Carolina Kailroad, are 
representative, wide-awake railroad men. They are 
doing all they can to develop this section of the State, 
by giving our people the very best possible railway ac- 
commodations. The steel rail over mountains and 
through gorges in this section has been truly a God- 
send to our people, and it is keenly appreciated by them. 

Don't forget to call on Mrs. Stockton if you go to 
Waynesville. Her table will gratify the most fastidious, 
and she is indeed one of the few women in the land who 
know just exactly how to please. 

The mountainous region of North Carolina embraces 
an area of 5,400 square miles, of an average elevation 
of 2,600 feet. 

The new Waynesville Hotel will be a popular place of 
resort this summer, under the capable management of 
host Timberlake. The hotel grounds are tempting 
Arcadian nooks of repose. 

The Indians, while roaming the forests of North Caro- 
lina, used to keep the remains of their ancestors, es- 
I)eeially their chiefs, in a hut called a " Quiogozog." 

Don't forget to have "Snowball," "Shakiefoot" and 
" Bones " dance for you before you leave Asheville. 

Estabrook's, on Main street, Asheville, deserves to 
be called the tourist's headquarters, since while it is 

75 



one of the pleasantest of places to visit, it supplies in 
great variety the articles which persors are the most 
likely to feel the need of when on an outing. Here will 
be found artists' materials, books, fine stationery, sum- 
mer reading, fancy goods, Florida and Western North 
Carolina novelties. Helper's Illustrated Guide Book, the 
best thing out, always on hand. Lessons given in 
drawing, and oil and water color painting, at studio over 
store. 

It has been generally remarked, by the traveling pub- 
lic that the conductors on the Western North Carolina 
Railroad cannot be surpassed for politeness, affability of 
manner or regard for the comfort of their passengers. 
Capt. Thomas Murphy and Capt. P. A. Newland are 
noted for their caution, care, and indefatigable activity. 
They are both deservedly popular. 

Excursion parties, picnic crowds and flower rumina- 
tors are all the rage during the summer. One day last 
year while a couple were out gathering the beautiful 
rhododendrons at a picnic, a certain gentleman from 
South Carolina found a gold vein; afterward he secured 
a gold mive. 

The proper caper, you know, is this, provided you are 
thirsty: " Oukwoekaninniwock" — "let's take a drink" 
for it's " quite Indian you know, quite Indian, you know." 

It's an ill omen to present your best girl with a bunch 
of rhododendrons before breakfast. Ask Charley Eawls 
of the " Swannanoa," the why and wherefore. 

Romantic star-gazing couples should not fail to visit 
the old Indian seat near the city, referred to in the 
Pamphlet. They will do well to remember, however, 
should they go there, that : ' ' Les murailles ont des 
oreilles." 

Families and invalids desiring a pleasant home-like 
place, will do well to bear in mind the delightful home 
of Mountain Cottage, Mr. H. C. Hunt, proprietor. 

Visitors fond of the aesthetic should not fail to take a 

76 



peep into the Mikado room, over Lyo7i's drug store. 
Mr. Koger Davis, the artist, has on exhibition some 
very fine and effective sketches of inviting nooks among 
the mountains of Western North Carolina. 

Battery Porter, as during the war, still holds its rep- 
utation as a stronghold not easily captured. Many 
a gallant " colonel" in private life meets his fate from 
fair hands on the scenes of former struggles. 

The Black mountains have eighteen peaks more than 
6,000 feet high; the highest, Mitchell, 6,711; Black 
Dome, 6,707 ; Mountain House (on Mt. Mitchell), 5,245. 
In the Swannanoa mountains, on the left going west. 
Young's Ktiob is 4,387 feet; Flat Top, 4,378. The ter- 
minal peak of the range, Silver Cliff, six miles from 
Asheville, is 3,850. Pisgah, in view of Asheville to the 
southwest, is 5,757. Fifteen of the peaks about Waynes- 
ville exceed 6,000 feet, the highest, Sam's Knob, being 
6,491. There are fifty-seven mountains in Western 
North Carolina above 6,000 feet high. Along the divid- 
ing line between this State and Tennessee there are 
some rising higher, the average of the whole chain ex- 
ceeding 5,000 feet. The highest peak of the Smoky 
mountains is 6,666 feet; the Roan, 6,306; Grandfather, 
5,897; and Table Eock, 3,918. 

Boone, the most elevated village east of the Eocky 
Mountains, is 3,222 feet high; Bakersville, 2,550; 
Waynesville, 2,757; and Burnsville, 2,840, 

Daniel Boone, the greatest Nimrod of the Western 
Hemisphere, the dweller in the Blue Eidge caves and 
scout of the highest peaks, expired at a deer-stand, with 
rifle in hand, pierced through the heart by an Indian 
arrow, in the year 1818. Byron alluded to him in the 
following : 

" Crime came not near him; she is not the child 
Of Solitude. Health shrank not irom him, for 
Her home is in the rarely trodden wild." 

Western North Carolina is a mountainous expanse, 

L. sr 0. 



measuriDg about 100 miles in length by an average 
breadth of mountain plateau of thirty miles, yet in all 
this area there is not one lake. There are rushing 
streams and rapid gorges, but no deep lakes for the 
breeding of malaria — there is no rest for the sparkling 
waters, they go on forever to the deep blue sea. 

There is no better country in the world for the sports- 
man than "Western North Carolina. Come and see for 
yourself. 

The Grandfather, the highest peak of the Blue Eidge, 
5,897 feet, is the oldest mountain in the world. It de- 
rives its name of Grandfather from the fact that its 
rocks are of the Archaean age, and the oldest outcrop- 
pings of the globe. 

Geologically speaking, the mountains of Western 
North Carolina are the oldest in the world. 

The Indian population in North Carolina in the year 
1700 was about 8,000. 

In one of the mountains near Asheville is a seat 
erected by an Indian maiden, built of flat rocks, where, 
it is said, she was courted by one of the warriors of the 
Cherokee tribe. The beauty of the place is in the rever- 
berating sounds it gives forth — not even a whisper is a- 
secret. Our young couples should beware of this place,, 
as no secrets are hidden there. 



SWANNANOA. 



BY JACQUES, OF CHABLESTON, S. C. 

Swannanoa, nymph of beauty, 

I would woo thee in my rhyme ; 
Wildest, brightest, loveliest river. 

Of our sunny Southern clime ! 
Swannanoa, well they named thee. 

In the mellow Indian tongue ; 
Beautiful thou art, most truly. 

And right worthy to be sung. 
78 



I have stood by many a river 

Known to story and to song — 
Ashley, Hudson, Susquehanna, 

Fame to which may well belong ; 
I have camped by the Ohio, 

Trod Scioto's fertile banks. 
Followed far the Juniata, 

In the wildest of her pranks — 

But thou reignest queen forever. 

Child of Appalachian hills, 
"Winning tribute as thou flowest. 

From a thousand mountain rills. 
Thine is beauty, strength-begotten. 

Mid the cloud-begirded peaks, 
"Where the patriarch of the mountains, 

Heavenward far thy waters seeks. 

Through the laurels and the beeches 

Bright thy silvery current shines, 
Sleeping now in granite basins. 

Overhung by trailing vines. 
And anon careering onward. 

In the maddest frolic mood, 
"Waking, with its sea-like voices, 

Fairy echoes in the wood. 

Peaceful sleep thy narrow valleys 

In the shadow of the hills ; 
And thy flower-enameled border 

All the air with fragrance fills ; 
"Wild luxuriance, generous tillage. 

Here alternate meet the view; 
Every turn, through all thy windings. 

Still revealing something new. 

"Where, O graceful Swannanoa, 

Are the warriors who of old 
Sought thee at thy mountain sources. 

Where thy springs are icy cold, — 
"Where the dark-browed Indian maidens. 

Who their limbs were wont to lave 
(Worthy bath for fairer beauty). 

In thy cool and limpid wave? 
79 



Gone forever from thy borders, 

But immortal in tliy name 
Are the red men of the forest ! 

Be thou keeper of their fame ! 
Paler races dwell beside thee; 

Celt and Saxon till thy lands, 
"Wedding use unto thy beauty, — 

Linking over thee their hands. 

■ -^'RACING WATER." 



BY MABY. BAYARD CLAEKE. 

' Kacing "Water " who can paint thee ! . 

"With thy scenery wild and grand, 
It would take a magic pencil 
Guided by a master hand. 

Here are towering, rugged mountains. 
Granite rocks all scarred and gray, 

Nature's altars whence her incense 
Floats in wreaths of mist away. 

At their feet thy murmuring waters 
Now are singing songs of praise. 

Or in sonorous notes triumphant 
A majestic paean raise. 

Down the canon's rocky gorges 
Now they wildly, madly sweep. 

Or with laughing shout exultant 
O'er the rocky barriers leap. 

Then in calm and limpid beauty 
Still and deep they silent flow, 

"With the verdant bank o'erhanging 
Pictured in the depths below. 

Tah-kee-os-kee, "racing water," 
"Was thy sonorous Indian name. 

But as " French Broad " thou art written 
On the white man's roll of fame. 

Perish that, and live the other. 

For on evei'y dancing wave 
Evermore is shown the beauty 

Of the name the red man gave. 

80 






CT 






(r 



iiliiili ill iilll 



f Tfif If !|rf : f Tf :f rf ri :| 




^st^vilk is situated at rl^? confluence. 

of rt?^ owannanoa and Tr^ncb 'Broad 

rivers a[7?of?5 the foothills of tb^ Black ^ 

lUountaiR range rbirfeen peaKs of ^ 

which pierce the clouds at an. dlfWude.^ 

above that of lT?oJr?f Washingfon " 

'-^^ . ^ 

INK) other sumrRer resori- in the ooiimryf 

Iras so rr>ar?y advantages as 






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